***
Antony Blinken´s statement
***
-> When was it formed and why?
-> The data support that it was the UK who convinced USA
-> For the US to go along there was indeed a tremendous opportunity
-> And a small risk. Just to step aside and have deniability,
-> Protecting NATO Article 5 and its cohesion.
5 Jan 2022 - USA: Blinken: Nord Stream 2 pipeline is ‘leverage’ for Europe against Russia
“This pipeline does not have gas flowing through it at present and if Russia renews its aggression toward Ukraine, it would certainly be difficult to see gas flowing through it in the future,” Blinken said. “So some may see Nord Stream Two as leverage that Russia can use against Europe. In fact, it’s leverage for Europe to use against Russia.”
Germany views the pipeline as an opportunity to diversify gas imports to Europe, but came to an agreement with the Biden administration in July that Berlin would impose costs on Russia if it weaponized Nord Stream 2, or committed aggressive acts against Ukraine.
Blinken and Baerbock said they both reaffirmed commitments to the July agreement in their bilateral meeting.
The agreement that was reached in July followed President Biden waiving sanctions on the pipeline’s project company Nord Stream 2 AG, a subsidiary of the Russian-owned company Gazprom.
6 Jan 2022 - USA:
Nord Stream 2 could become Europe's leverage against Russia – Blinken6 Jan 2022 - USA: US Secretary of State
Antony Blinken has
called on the EU and Germany to block the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project if Russia renews its aggression towards Ukraine.
[MRT: Note that there were never sanctions against NS1. Post ]
20 Jan 2022 - USA:
Blinken on Nord Stream 2 ahead of his meeting with
Scholz tonight:
"Nord Stream 2 is leverage for Germany, the United States and our allies"
23 Feb 2022 - USA: Sanctioning NS2AG, Matthias Warnig, and NS2AG’s Corporate Officers
Blinken: The United States applauds Germany’s decision to take administrative steps to halt the certification process for Nord Stream 2, which will prevent the pipeline from becoming operational. After consultations with Germany and the EU, I have terminated the waiver and imposed sanctions on Nord Stream 2 AG (NS2AG), its CEO Matthias Warnig, and NS2AG’s corporate officers. This action is in line with the United States’ longstanding opposition to Nord Stream 2 as a Russian geopolitical project and the President’s commitment that Nord Stream 2 would not move forward following the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
24 Feb 2022 - USA: Secretary
Antony Blinken:
We worked closely with Germany to stop the Nord Steam 2 pipeline. Germany has been a leader on efforts to respond to Russian aggression and announced strong actions yesterday. Today, I am sanctioning Nord Stream 2 AG, its CEO, and its corporate officers.
9 March 2022 - UK: Truss:
Met @SecBlinken and agreed more action is needed to hold Putin to account for his barbaric invasion of Ukraine.
10 March 2022 - UK: Britain Urges All G7 Members To Ban Russia Oil Imports
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on Wednesday called on the entire G7 to ban Russia oil imports, saying the world’s leading economies should “go further and faster” in punishing Moscow for invading Ukraine.
Standing alongside US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Truss also hailed transatlantic unity against Russian aggression, saying the strength of the alliance has “surprised” President Vladimir Putin and that more must be done to assure his invasion fails.
“We must double down on our sanctions. That includes… the G7 ending its use of Russian oil and gas” and implementing a full ban on Russian banks using the SWIFT bank messaging system, Truss said in a joint press conference with Blinken at the State Department in Washington.
“Now is not the time to let up. Putin must fail,” she added.
9 Sept 2022 - USA: Europe Can Get Rid Of Russian Energy 'Chokehold': Blinken
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that Russia's war in Ukraine presented Europe with the opportunity to finally end its dependence on Russian energy.
Blinken made the comments after a surprise visit to Ukraine while en route to Brussels where he said he would be discussing energy security at a meeting with NATO representatives.
"There's also a tremendous opportunity … finally once and for all, to move away from this dependence on Russia, to get rid of the chokehold that Russia has on Europe, using energy as a weapon, and to diversify supply, diversify routes," Blinken said.
[MRT: Blonken stated that the opportunity exists now, before Nordstream was attacked.]
Russian gas giant Gazprom last week shut the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany citing the need for repairs, with the Kremlin saying sanctions have prevented the proper maintenance of gas infrastructure.
"The fact that Russia has cut off the Nord Stream pipeline again is further evidence that it is so vitally strategic for Europe to move away from dependence on Russian energy because Putin has shown he will use it as a weapon and he’s not going to stop now," Blinken said.
20 Sept 2022 - UK/USA:
Secretary Blinken’s Meeting with UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly21 Sept 2022 - USA/UK:
Secretary Antony Blinken, @SecBlinken meets James Cleverly.22 Sept 2022 - USA: Blinken Public Schedule – September 22, 2022
7:45 p.m. Secretary Blinken hosts the Transatlantic working dinner in New York City, New York.
(POOLED CAMERA SPRAY AT TOP) [MRT: Public Webcast has been cancelled - link]
Attendees: DEPUTY SECRETARY FOR MANAGEMENT AND RESOURCES BRIAN P. MCKEON
Deputy Secretary McKeon attends meetings and briefings at the Department of State. Deputy Secretary Wendy Sherman, Counselor Derek Chollet, Under Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Bonnie Jenkins, Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Uzra Zeya, Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jose Fernandez, Senior Official for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Elizabeth Allen, Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Molly Phee, Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink, Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried, Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf, Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu, Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols, Assistant Secretary for Conflict and Stabilization Operations Anne Witkowsky, Assistant Secretary for Economic and Business Affairs Ramin Toloui, Assistant Secretary for Energy Resources Geoffery Pyatt, Assistant Secretary for International Organization Affairs Michele Sison, Assistant Secretary for Oceans, Environment, and Science Affairs Monica Medina, Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs Jessica Lewis, Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees, and Migration Julieta Noyes, Acting Assistant Secretary for Global Public Affairs Elizabeth Trudeau, Senior Bureau Official for Counterterrorism Tim Betts, Special Presidential Coordinator for the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment Amos Hochstein, Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Michael Hammer, Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley, Special Envoy for Global Food Security Cary Fowler, and Special Representative for Global Partnerships Dorothy McAuliffe attend meetings and events surrounding the United Nations General Assembly, in New York City.
BRIEFING SCHEDULE, No Department Press Briefing.
[MRT: Was this a brainstorming meeting or an info meeting about Nordstream? Why no cameras despite previously announced?]
22 Sep 2022 - NATO/USA: NATO Secretary General in New York
On the margins of the United Nations General Assembly, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met the Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba in New York on Wednesday (21 September 2022)
The Secretary General is also taking part in the transatlantic dinner hosted by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (22 September 2022)
[MRT: His presence means security of NATO has been discussed.]
23 Sept 2022 - USA:
Secretary Antony J. Blinken at the Ministerial Meeting of the Minerals Security Partnership
[MRT: Were short term future LNG deliveries to EU discussed?]
23 Sept 2022 - USA/GCC:
Secretary Blinken With Foreign Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council Nations, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, and Yemen
[MRT: Was stability of energy markets in case of disruptions discussed?]
23 Sept 2022 - USA:
Blinken, China's Wang discussed need for open lines of communication -U.S. statementU.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Friday discussed the need to maintain open lines of communication between the two countries, the State Department said on Friday.
[MRT: Why would lines of communication be insecure or problematic? Looks like making sure that they stay open prior to the Nordstream attack to minimize misunderstandings.]
25 Sept 2022 - USA: Secretary Antony J. Blinken Interview With 60 Minutes on CBS With Scott Pelley
25 Sept 2022 - USA: Secretary Blinken answers:
Would anyone in Russia stop Putin if he wanted to use nukes?U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told 60 Minutes the Kremlin has a nuclear "chain of command" but it's uncertain whether anyone would tell Russian President Vladimir Putin "no" if he decides to launch a nuclear weapon.
"And that is the Achilles heel of autocracies anywhere," the secretary of state said. "…There is usually not anyone who has the capacity or the will to speak truth to power. And part of the reason, I think, Russia has gotten itself into the mess that it's in is because there is no one in the system to effectively tell Putin he's doing the wrong thing."
[MRT: Blinken looks like seriously worrying that Russia could retaliate to the UK´s attack on Nordstream with nukes which could trigger irreversible reaction chain of escalation events. Similar worries Norway had 19-09-2022 which brough NOR leadership to Norfolk and Pentagon. See here]
Putin drafted 300,000 reservists and threatened nuclear war last Wednesday, and emphasized, "this is not a bluff." In an address to his people, Putin told his people that the West is bent on destroying the Russian homeland.
"President Biden has been determined that as we're doing everything we can to help the Ukrainians defend themselves, as we're doing everything we can to rally other countries to put pressure on Russia, we're also determined that this war not expand, not get broader," Blinken explained.
[MRT: Both the USA and Norwegians were seriously concerned about the Russian response to the upcoming attack on Nordstream - see here.]
26 Sept 2022 - USA: Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that Russia deploying nuclear weapons would have “catastrophic effects.”
Blinken tells 60 Minutes the Biden administration has a plan in place for a potential U.S. response.
[MRT: This investigation, the data, support the hypothesis that the USA learned about the UK´s plan to low up Nordstream and were convinced to step aside. Doing so their role was to protect NATO cohesion and respond to any possible Russian retaliation. There are several posts which show the US had a knowledge of the event like here.]
26 Sept 2022 - USA/RU: Blinken sends another twitter message
26 Sept 2022 - UK: According to the article, a phone hack revealed Truss sent a text to U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken a few minutes before the explosion saying
“It’s done.”'
[MRT: The UK is the main suspect and there are about 15 posts in the investigation about their motives, involvement, preparations, etc. The Truss statement will be explored in relation to the USUK meetings since NY UN event in one of the next post.]
27 Sept 2022 - USA: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre 9/26/22 Transcript
Speaker 4: (16:16)
And with the warnings that we saw from Jake Sullivan, Tony Blinken, all of these figures yesterday, about the catastrophic warnings that they say that they’ve communicated to Russia if Russia chooses to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, does the United States believe that, even if it’s still low, does it believe the chances of Russia using nuclear weapons is higher now than it was in February, in March, given what’s happened on the battlefield?
[MRT: Data point to the US previous knowledge about the Nordstream attack. The data hints that the USA has chosen the "pleasant deniability" path of stepping aside and letting the event to play out. This is confirmed by events described in a cross-reference manner through this investigation. One of them is the US tried to de-escalate before the Nordstream event happened: here]
Karine Jean-Pierre: (16:39)
So, as far as any evidence or the chances, look, we haven’t seen that at this time. We take these threats, though, very seriously. But we have not seen any reason to adjust our own nuclear posture at this time. So, again, haven’t seen any evidence of it. But we take this incredibly seriously.
Speaker 8: (27:11)
Thank you. Does President Biden share Zelenskyy’s assessment that Putin is not, quote, “bluffing” when it comes to his threats about nuclear weapons?
Karine Jean-Pierre: (27:21)
So I mean, we’ve been very clear on this. The Putin’s nuclear threat against Europe are irresponsible, and it’s reckless. You’ve heard the president say this. You’ve heard the National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, he was most recently on a few Sunday shows. And the consequences of nuclear use would be disastrous for Russia and the world, and Russia would be a pariah on the world stage.
[MRT: The threat to Nordstream was known before it happened. Russians also seemed to know that something may have been happening as they have increased significantly snap trainings in Kaliningrad region and put their nuclear rhetoric up. These topics are explored for example here and here]
Karine Jean-Pierre: (27:47)
This is not new rhetoric. We have heard this before from Russia. We have heard this before from Mr. Putin. They have made these threats before, over the course of this conflict, this past six months or more. We, of course, take it seriously. Again, we take this very, very seriously.
Karine Jean-Pierre: (28:04)
Though I would add that Russia itself has said many times that a nuclear war cannot be won and should never be fought. This is something that they have said, including earlier this year in the P5 joint statement. As the president made clear, any use of nuclear weapons on any scale should be and would be disastrous for the world and would entail severe consequences.
Speaker 8: (28:31)
Well, and regarding these catastrophic consequences that Link and Sullivan, yourself, have said would occur if there are nuclear weapons used, I mean, can we assume that these would be consequences beyond sanctions, that there would be some sort of a military response? What more can you say on what catastrophic consequences mean?
Karine Jean-Pierre: (28:55)
Jake Sullivan said this yesterday, as well, is that we have had private conversations. The NSC and his team has had private conversations and communicated privately directly to the Russians, and they understand that. They understand exactly what those consequences would be. We are not going to lay that out in the public. We are not going to have these negotiations or share these conversations in public. But again, to reiterate what our national security advisor said just yesterday is that they have made that very clear and spoken directly to the Russians and they understand.
Speaker 8: (29:38)
Are there any plans for President Biden to relay that directly to Putin in some way?
Karine Jean-Pierre: (29:43)
We don’t have any calls to preview at this time. Welcome back.
28 Sept 2022: USA/DK: Secretary Antony Blinken, @SecBlinken:
I spoke with Danish Foreign Minister @JeppeKofod today about the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 apparent sabotage. We remain committed to promoting European energy security.
29 Sept 2022 - RU: When speaking to the Soloviev Live TV channel, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Zakharova called out US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s claim that attacks on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines would be in no one’s interest as a bold-faced lie
29 Sept 2022 - Secretary Antony Blinken, @SecBlinken:
Congratulations to my friend and German Foreign Minister @ABaerbock on being named to @TIME Magazine’s 2022 #TIME100 Next List. Thank you for your steadfast support for democracy, freedom, and human rights during challenging times.
29 Sept 2022 - RU: TASS, @tassagency_en: Russian diplomat calls out Blinken’s ‘lie’ on pipeline attack
Maria Zakharova pointed out that in previous years, the then Republican-led US administration "did everything to scuttle" the Nord Stream 2 project
When speaking to the Soloviev Live TV channel on Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called out US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s claim that attacks on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines would be in no one’s interest as a bold-faced lie.
"When Mr Blinken says that the project’s collapse is in no one's interest, it sounds ridiculous, it’s a lie," she maintained.
Zakharova pointed out that in previous years, the then Republican-led US administration "did everything to scuttle" the Nord Stream 2 project. "They employed methods of political pressure and blackmail, which are illegal and go beyond morality, law and logic, and they also used their diplomatic resources to exert direct pressure, particularly on the German authorities. <...> The Democrats took a different path," the Russian diplomat noted.
The Nord Stream pipeline incidents took place in the exclusive economic zone of Denmark and Sweden, an area that is fully controlled by US intelligence agencies, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the Soloviev Live TV program
30 Sept 2022 - USA:
Secretary Antony J. Blinken And Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly At a Joint Press Availability REMARKS - ANTONY J. BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN ROOM - WASHINGTON, D.C
FOREIGN MINISTER JOLY: To add to that, obviously we support NATO’s and the EU’s declaration regarding the sabotage of the pipelines.
[MRT: The issue is not EU issue and not NATO issue but a legal case between owners of Nordstream 1 and Nordstream 2 pipelines. EU and NATO should have no say in that. Note that there is absolutely no way that the legal definition of the act could be associated to a "sabotage" without knowledge who has done it and without motives of that act - Who said it is a "Sabotage" first? and The Definition, Severity and Accountability of the Nordstream Affair].
We think that it is a very important European infrastructure. That is why I also had the opportunity to talk to my Danish and Swedish counterpart and obviously we spoke about it as well.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: I think first it’s important to make clear that these pipelines – that is, Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 – were not pumping gas into Europe at this time.
[MRT: The flow has no relevance. The minimal expected time-life if 50+ years.]
Nord Stream 2 never became operational, as is well known. Nord Stream 1 has been shut down for weeks because of Russia’s weaponization of energy.
[MRT: The issue is discussed is several posts: January 2022 - Biden, Blinken: Nord Stream 2 pipeline is ‘leverage’ for Europe against Russia, How the Nordstream 2 did not got its certification and About the GER-USA Nordstream 2 AG deal and here. There still COULD be some legal issues with the arbitration as described here: Nord Stream 2 AG and INVESTMENT TREATY ARBITRATION European Union, ]
What we’ve been doing – and we’ve also been working on this together for many, many weeks as we saw the Russian aggression in Ukraine and as we saw the ongoing weaponization of energy by Russia – is to work very closely with European partners as well as countries around the world to make sure that there is enough energy on world markets.
And so we’ve significantly increased our production as well as making available to Europe liquefied natural gas. And we’re now the leading supplier of LNG to Europe to help compensate for any gas or oil that it’s losing as a result of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
We’ve worked to release oil from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve to make sure as well that there is oil on the markets and to help keep prices down. We’ve engaged with the European Union and established months ago a task force to work directly with Europe on ways to decrease demand to help get through the winter, as well as to pursue additional supply and to find ways to speed up the transition to renewables even as we’re getting through this challenging period. So all of that work is ongoing.
My own sense – and I mentioned this the other day – is, look, there’s a lot of hard work to do to make sure that countries and partners get through the winter. Europe itself has taken very significant steps to both decrease demand but also look at ways to pursue the transition to renewables at the same time. And ultimately this is also a tremendous opportunity.
It’s a tremendous opportunity to once and for all remove the dependence on Russian energy and thus to take away from Vladimir Putin the weaponization of energy as a means of advancing his imperial designs.
[MRT: The Soviet Union through all years has been a reliable supplier of energy to Europe.]
That’s very significant and that offers tremendous strategic opportunity for the years to come, but meanwhile, we’re determined to do everything we possibly can to make sure that the consequences of all of this are not borne by citizens in our countries or, for that matter, around the world.
[MRT: The "strategic opportunity for years to come" comment hints to the underlying long term plan of no return to Russian energy imports by EU. This also hints to no-solution and revelation as who bombed the Nordatream.]
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Shaun, thank you. First, on the pipelines, we’ve been in very close contact with our partners in Europe – notably with Denmark and Sweden. We are supporting the investigation into these attacks on the pipelines and working to be able to determine who is responsible.
But I don’t want to get ahead of those investigations; that work is ongoing. I think everyone by now is well aware of something that Mélanie alluded to more broadly, but specific to Russia, which is the outrageous misinformation and disinformation campaigns that it engages in.
So I really have nothing to say to the absurd allegation from President Putin that we or other partners or allies are somehow responsible for this, but we will get to the bottom of what happened, and we’ll share that information as soon as we’re – as soon as we have it. But I don’t want to get ahead of the investigation that’s ongoing.
[MRT: The double speak * sharing with whom and how, to the public?]
When it comes to the rhetoric we’ve heard from President Putin on nuclear weapons, you heard us speak to this very directly at the United Nations this week. This kind of loose talk about nuclear weapons is the height of irresponsibility and it’s something that we take very seriously. We are looking very carefully to see if Russia is actually doing anything that suggests that they are contemplating the use of nuclear weapons. To date we’ve not seen them take these actions, but we also know that Russia’s engaged in horrific – a horrific brutalization of Ukraine. And so the threats that they make, we take very seriously. As to President Putin’s intent, I’m not going to speculate on what’s in his mind. I can just tell you that we plan against every possible scenario, including this one.
...from the three NORAD regions conducted defensive maneuvers along the northern and western approaches to North America. Most flights were conducted over sparsely populated Arctic and Pacific areas.
1 Oct 2022 - USA: Secretary Antony Blinken, @SecBlinken:
We join Sweden and our @NATO Allies
... and European partners in rejecting and condemning any attempt to undermine European energy security, including the recent apparent sabotage along the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines.
[MRT: The condemnation statement is about a weakest option. Would Russia be the culprit then Danish straight could have been closed for them, Russia could have been proclaimed a terrorist state which could allow seizure of their monetary and other assets. That did not happen.]
2 Oct 2022 - USA: US Secretary of State
Anthony Blinken:
The Europeans should look at what happened to #NordStream pipelines as an opportunity to reduce dependence on Russian gas [MRT: Not a talk the perpetrator would typically make rather an opportunistic behaviour of a profiteer. The hypothesis is that the UK had a good argument how to convince USA into pleasant deniability - protect NATO cohession, as it is what you do anyway, and sell LNG to Europeans, we in USA have 3 idling LNG terminals. Note that shortly after the event the UK became net energy exporter, after 40+ years! The issue is discussed here: Mission accomplished - UK - from Energy Importer to Energy Exporter]
11 Oct 2022 - USA/NOR:
Secretary Antony J. Blinken And Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt Before Their Meeting
AJB: ...And Norway is now the leading supplier of natural gas to Europe, playing an absolutely vital role in helping Europe move off of its dependence on Russian energy.
AH: ...Thank you so much for having me, Tony. United States is Norway’s most important ally. We do have a land border to three countries, and that’s Finland, Sweden, and Russia. And in the present situation, we feel so, so much more secure and also strong by having Finland and Sweden, together with you, within NATO...
[MRT: Norway was scared of escalation beyond their control and a spark of the conflict. So they closed in a fast-track a separate bilateral defense agreement with USA just before the event.]
18 Oct 2022 - USA/UK:
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken meets with UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on October 18, 2022.
[MRT: Blinken´s counterpart would b Cleverly so it is about UK´s security which is important for the USA´s own interests.]
19 Oct 2022 - UK/USA:
Britain must urgently review its defence in light of Putin’s nuclear threatDefence Secretary Ben Wallace has gone to Washington, like Mr Smith in the movie, this time on unscheduled and urgent business.
[MRT: Urgent unnamed matter just a short time after Nordstream pipelines were blown up. A series of top priority meetings at Washington and Pentagon which lasted 3 days.]
Three days of meetings at the Pentagon and White House will focus on the dramatic turning point in the Ukraine war and the scary possibilities of what Russia might do next.
[MRT: Since the NS2 is fully owned by Gazprom in which Russian state has a majority stake the attack could be consis´dered a "causus belli" (A casus belli is an act or an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war).]
President Biden’s top team of security and defence officials will want to know what Britain, and its European allies, plan to do next to maintain support for the Kyiv government and mitigate a range of threats across the region.
[MRT: Looks like the perpetrator is hiding in NATO unity, a hijacking move which forced the alliance to act together to protect the member which lashed at Russia.]
The team of Antony Blinken, Jake Sullivan and Lloyd Austin will want to know about the future shape of Britain’s security and strategic capabilities — and whether more cuts are on the way.
[MRT: News about Lloyd Austin which are possibly connected to the Nordstream affar are listed here: US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and the Nordstream affair. There will be a future post about all 3 and Biden.]
An urgent defence review is coming — a new version of the Integrated Review (IR) and the defence blueprint, the Defence Command Paper of last year, are to be delivered within weeks.
[MRT: For the UK the Russia is the number one threat. For the USA it is China. Note that UK has changed its security apparatus just before the Nordstream attack: UK has changed its security structures on 23-09-2022]
An update is essential: so much has changed since March 2021. The new blueprint must be more practical and less aspirational than the IR — much less of the blue skies of “the tilt to the Pacific” and more practical focus on the needs of security, resilience and defence at home and in the near neighbourhood. It must explain to a sceptical public and confused political class the real need for a workable security and strategic posture for troubled times.
[MRT: How to tell public without telling them that blowing pipelines to Russia has consequences]
20 Oct 2022 - UK: Volume 824: debated on Thursday 20 October 2022
We read of the Defence Secretary’s recent visit to Washington, which was organised so quickly that he had to miss a Select Committee meeting at the last minute, to discuss, according to Secretary Blinken, support for Ukraine and the serious security threat that Russia poses to the Europe, the US and the world. What threats were discussed? What was the purpose of this last-minute meeting?
[MRT: UK´s involvement in the Nordstream affair and the need of coordination to protect NATO cohesion? Russia has the right to retaliate]
27 Oct 2022 - USA/CAN
: Office of the Counselor, Department of State, @CounselorDOS: Very productive meetings with @SecBlinken here in Ottawa with our Canadian Allies to support Ukraine, address instability in Haiti,
secure a peaceful & prosperous Arctic, and much more. [MRT: Many meetings about Arctic security after the Nordstream affair. Synchs with UK being the prime suspect. The NATO allies need to cover up the perpetrator´s and own security against possible Russian retaliation.]
1 Nov 2022 - RU:
Russia accuses UK of involvement in attack on Black Sea fleet, Nord Stream gas pipelinesKremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says Moscow mulling retaliatory steps
[MRT: It took some time to check and verify who was behind and what would be the best retaliatory action. The NATO immediately after the event started the Deter and Defend joint posture]
The Kremlin on Tuesday said Russia's intelligence has information about London's involvement in attacks on Nord Stream gas pipelines and its Black Sea fleet in the port of Sevastopol.
[MRT: Russia has been very consistent in blaming Anglo-Saxons straight from the early on. Here is the collection of their statements: Consistency of Russian claims about Nordstream affair]
"Our special services ... have evidence that the leadership and coordination of the attack on Sevastopol Bay was carried out by British military consultants."
[MRT: Yet, so far no legal action.]
"There is also evidence that Britain is involved in sabotage ... a terrorist act on critical energy infrastructure, the Nord Stream pipelines," spokesman Dmitry Peskov told at a press briefing in Moscow.
[MRT: His other statement here: Dmitry Peskov: Danish investigation ends, Friend or Foe comment]
Moscow expects that despite the silence, European capitals will analyze the information on London's involvement in attack on Nord Stream gas pipelines, Peskov said.
[MRT: The issue is, they knew, and they seem to be all complicit in a cover-up: The Prague Summit & possible cover-up of Nordstream affair]
"We cannot leave such actions for nothing. We will think over further steps. ... We will do what we have to do," he stressed.
[MRT: It is unclear why there has not been done any action yet but one exlpanation could be that the purpose is to use the data as a "defense" mechanism would Western countries try to go into direct confrontation. Sometimes the best move is to wait and do nothing. We shall see what will happen in this area.]
1 Nov 2022 - RU/UK:
Russia asks UK's ex-premier about explosions at Nord Stream pipelinesRussian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman on Tuesday urged the former UK prime minister to explain her message allegedly sent to the US secretary of state right after the accident at Nord Stream gas pipelines at the Baltic Sea.
"Honestly, I don't care who and how (they) got this information. I am interested in London's response to the following question: Did Britain's Prime Minister Liz Truss send a message to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken right after the explosion at Nord Stream gas pipeline with the words 'it's done?'," Maria Zakharova wrote on Telegram.
Zakharova added that "millions of people all over the world are waiting for an answer to this question," stressing that "they have the right to know what happened to the global energy security and what is the role of Anglo-Saxons in the committed terrorist attack."
3 Nov 2022 - SWE/USA: Tobias Billström, @TobiasBillstrom: Had a very productive call today with @SecBlinken on many topics of interest to both 🇸🇪 and 🇺🇸
[MRT: Nordstream vibes. How to say it without saying it.]
3 Nov 2022 - TASS, @tassagency_en: Nord Stream terrorist attacks chiefly benefit US, says Russian security chief
Nikolay Patrushev highlighted that what could not be ignored is the text message by ex-UK Prime Minister Liz Truss, informing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken immediately after the bombing of the gas pipelines that "everything was done".
[MRT: I will create a post about Truss message in next post. The intel is unclear but possible. Data point that the UK´s mission was non-standard and Truss may have used some unofficial channel to pass the message to avoid scrutiny and public records of her official communication. Note that the plot is complex and events after 19/09 or more specifically 21/09 are still fully unclear - this is a timeframe in which the USA stepped aside, and shaped what was going on. It is possible that the message was genuine. More about this in the post. To sketch shortly - it looked like originally BoJo´s mission which Truss re-signed and hence was the highest ranking responsible official. Normally Blinken´s counterpart is James Cleverly - a foreign minister. In other news Biden disclosed that he has not preferred this outcome (to let things happen by stepping aside) but Biden is more pro Trans-Atlantic alliance and may have been more in the charge. More data, more research is needed in this area.]
He recalled that literally from the first minutes after the reports had emerged about the blasts along the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, an active smear campaign was launched to pin the blame on Russia.
[MRT: The data is traceable, it is possible to retrace which newspapers said what at exact time.]
"However, it is obvious that the main beneficiary of these terrorist attacks is the US, and the British Navy was involved in their planning and implementation, according to the Russian Defense Ministry," Patrushev pointed out.
[MRT: The main suspect does not need to be the main beneficiary. There are many with motives. This has been explored in the past The state as a suspect in Nordstream Affair - Criminal Profiling]
24 Nov 2022 - UA: Ukraine's new ambassador takes office
Use of dirty bomb planned? Kiev and Western nuclear powers reject Russian claims
Is there a risk of further escalation of Russia's war in Ukraine? In a phone call with Western counterparts, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed that Ukraine wanted to drop a conventional bomb laced with nuclear material to blame Russia. British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this was unbelievable.
The claim suggests that Moscow itself is planning something dirty, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
[MRT: The credibility of Zelenski is not too high. There were serious talks among top army leaders of nuclear powers. Russia called first to the UK then France, USA and Turkey where US nukes are hosted. See post here.]
29 Nov 2022 - NATO: Secretary General welcomes US Secretary of State to meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Bucharest on Tuesday ahead of a meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers.
[MRT: NATO has been severely fractured and undermined by one member state attacking Nordstream. The USA was trying to keep the alliance #WeAreTogether while preventing Russian legal and rightful retaliation #DeterAndDefence posture.]
6 - 8 Dec 2022 - SWE: Minister for Foreign Affairs
Tobias Billström visiting Washington DC on 6–8 December
Minister for Foreign Affairs Tobias Billström is visiting Washington DC on 6–8 December for a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken. Discussions will focus on Sweden's Presidency of the Council of the EU, Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, China and NATO.
[MRT: And perhaps what to do with the Nordstream investigation...?]
As time goes by, it becomes increasingly clear that a single or even multiple non-state actors would simply not have been able to carry out acts of sabotage and attacks of this magnitude, let alone private individuals posing as "Ukrainian divers". Such a complicated operation, involving diving to considerable depths and the use of military-grade explosives, would require significant resources and specific equipment that only sovereign states can possess, and which are also likely to have access to the technical documentation of the Nord Stream pipelines.
